Keir Starmer says Labor must 'come to terms' with damage done by Oulez in election

Sir Keir Starmer warns that his group must “keep discipline”; And they will have to make compromises. Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Europe.

Sir Keir Starmer said Labor must “come to terms” with the electoral damage caused by London's Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez).

Speaking at Labor's National Policy Forum in Nottingham on Saturday, he went further than ever in his criticism of Sadiq Khan's expansion of Ulez into the outskirts of London, saying the party was “doing something very wrong” if its policies were reads.” on every Tory leaflet.”

On Friday, Labor celebrated a historic by-election victory in Selby and Ainsty in Yorkshire, toppling a Conservative majority of over 20,000. The Bridge is the London seat previously represented by Boris Johnson, with opposition to Mr Khan's planned expansion of Ules in August, widely blamed for the result.

On Friday, Sir Keir said the party needed to “think” about Ules.

But speaking to representatives at the National Policy Forum, which will help shape the policies that will eventually be reflected in Labor's manifesto, Sir Keir went even further, criticizing the scheme of the mayor of London.

“This Uxbridge result demonstrates that there is no reason for complacency and no reason to rest on our laurels,” he said.

“In elections, politics matter. And we are doing something very wrong if the policy put forward by the Labor Party is on every Tory leaflet. We need to recognize this and learn from it.”

He added: “We need to seriously ask ourselves: are our priorities the priorities of the working people or is it just baggage that shows them that we do not see the country through their eyes?”

At the National Policy Forum, Labor's representatives are expected to have a heated debate over party politics, with Sir Keir facing particular pressure from the left to change their stance on issues such as the two-child benefit cap he has promised to keep.

But in his speech to delegates, the Labor leader warned his party that they need to “remain disciplined” and have to make compromises.

“The Labor government is not a magic wand that can simply brush off 13 years of unprecedented chaos as if it never happened,” he said. “If we win, the rescue operation will be like no other.”

He added: “Remember, point one of our party obliges us to win power first.”

BY-PASS ELECTION – Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Emphasizing the need for “economic stability,” he said Labor must be careful about making spending commitments.

“If you play fast and loose with the fundamentals of good economic management, it will be the working people who will end up paying the price,” he said. “This is the state of the country right now.”

He said that “difficult choice” was “not an empty phrase” but “the everyday reality that we will face if we achieve power.”

“Expenditure obligations must always be funded, and since they must always be funded… you can't just keep accumulating them.”

He also said that Labor must be prepared for the Conservatives to try to campaign on the so-called wedging problems in the general election.

“Whenever the election comes, we know how they will fight it – that's the lesson of Uxbridge,” he said.

“All they are what they can do now is oppose Labor, attack our distraction plans” from their entry.

“So we have to be ready for everything we do starting today.”

Ules “cut us in the knees”

Danny Beals, the unsuccessful Labor candidate in Uxbridge, said that Ules “cut us in the knees.”

The Huffington Post reported that invited to speak at the National Policy Forum, he said at the event: seat. But it isn't.

“Because—let me be frank—the single policy cut us to our knees. It is not difficult. You can't tell working people that you're focused on the cost of living, the hardships they face, making life easier, and then also punishing them just for driving their car to work.

“Ulez is bad policy. It needs to be rethought.”

He added: “The single policy, which seemed like a grotesque injustice to many who might otherwise have voted for us, acted like a dead weight that we had to lug around on our backs all day, every day, door to door.”